In 2014, Katherine first made headlines when a satellite tracker pinned to her dorsal fin pinged all along the Florida coast — including Sebastian Inlet, Stuart and Boynton Beach.

It turns out she was no rogue.

A study that same year led by National Marine Fisheries shark expert Tobey Curtis compiled a database of 649 confirmed white shark sightings back to the 1800 and found a clear pattern of whitesharks wintering off both Florida coasts and through the Carolinas. Summers are spent in New England waters.

The study also found that white sharks were most often sighted in waters over the continental shelf. More than 90 percent of the sightings were in waters 330 feet deep or less, with the median depth of about 100 feet.

The Ocearch team prepares to capture and tag a 14-foot, 2,300 pound great white shark in August 2013. The shark would become known as Katharine. Robert Snow/OCEARCH

Because the continental shelf doesn’t extend far off Palm Beach County’s coast, white sharks may be funneled between the coast and the shelf’s edge, said Dean Grubbs, associate director of research at the Florida State Coastal and Marine Lab.

“If you are in Jacksonville, it’s 50 miles to the edge of the continental shelf, but down in Jupiter, it’s only a few miles,” Grubbs said.